Last Sunday my mom and I went to have breakfast at Joan and Ed’s Deli in Sherwood Plaza (Natick)
For any one who has never been, Joan and Ed’s has been around a long time and serves kosher “style” food.  Deli sandwiches, entrees, salads breakfast and desserts.
In the lobby there is the dessert case, the deli/take-out counter and all sorts of Judaica items for sale:

When I was in college, I worked at Joan and Ed’s when it was at it’s original location in the old shoppers world.  I remember if I was late, running up the ramp (part of old SW’s unique layout features) to get to the front door as fast as I could.  Also bringing home their stellar knishes and the occasional container of pickles to my mom.  It was the best tasting place I ever worked at.
I will come back and do a lunch post but for this trip we went for breakfast.
Inside is much different than the old place, it looks very Boca Raton to me:

I’m not a big observer of passover but for people like my mom who don’t eat bread for the week, they offer a basket of Matzoh to start.

We started off sharing a fruitcup

And then decided to just get some stuff and share:
Mom’s spinach omelet with a latke (sides of apple sauce and sour cream)

I got lox, onion and eggs

We also shared a scoop of whitefish salad.

As usual, everything was great.  I know people will say this doesn’t compare with delis in NY or even Brookline and that may be true but for this area, this is as close as you’ll get and I really think hands-down, they have the best knishes and I’ve always had a great meal here. 

Can’t wait to do a post about you, knish!

Growing up in Holliston’s “south side” we spent a lot of time going to Milford and one of our favorite places for Chinese food was, and still is Pago Pago on rt. 16.
I guess I should make a note here, since sometimes I’ll make a post on thisisframingham about a Chinese restaurant and someone feels the need to “educate” me (sometimes getting rather upset too) about how what they serve in the states isn’t really Chinese food that they eat in China – I just want to say: I know.  I like American-Chinese food for what it is and I don’t expect to find crab rangoons or egg foo young if I went to China.  I use “Chinese food” as a general term for American-Chinese food.  So now onto the post:
What I love about Pago is it’s tiki-theme decor. Starting with the giant mask above the entrance:

Inside is a small but usually full lounge complete with hanging mask lamps and rock wall behind the bar (yes that’s silver wallpaper in the back!)

The dining room is fun too. They have something that looks like a left over lighting fixture from studio 54, and some more rock wall and a mirror with painted bamboo shoots:

There was a bunch of us so we  just ordered a variety of things starting off with some cocktails:

Then a PuPu Platter:

 The dishes we got were Shrimp Lo Mein:

Chicken MooShi:

Egg Foo Young:

And some General G:

We ended with a nice check and a giant bag of left overs brought with pineapple chunks on ice:

I feel like Pago is one of those places people either love it or..do not like.  My family loves it and even though we only go here once in a while, it’s a reliable treat every time. 

Market Basket in Ashland can be a more economical alternative to grocery shopping since Stop&Shop and Shaw’s are pretty pricey.  I have a system for my grocery shopping:
Dry, canned and frozen goods – Trader Joe’s
Specialty treats or harder to find food -Whole Foods
Produce and misc cupboard staples – Market Basket
My mom is a huge fan of Market Basket and will always say how much cheaper the food is there BUT, I don’t think it’s the bargain she hypes it up to be.  I actually found a few items to be cheaper at Whole Foods so they’re not always the cheapest but like I said I think they’re worth going to for the produce.

Another part of my system is that I like to go Sunday morning right when they open, it’s such a pleasant experience.
I start at right side entrance and make a counter-clockwise journey starting in the dairy section and ending in the bakery. 
Ending in the bakery is my favorite part because the smell of freshly made donuts is intoxicating, like how Dunkin Donuts used to smell when they actually made the donuts in the store.  I think this is the closest to a small, local donut shop as we’ll get in the metrowest area.  But if anyone has other suggestions for donut places, please let me know.
My routine is to just stand at the donut case for a minute or two and inhale. 

I’ve never actually had one of them, it’s really enough to just look and smell, this is what serisouly gest me out of bed at 6:45am on a Sunday.  I can’t even imagine how many calories they have but I will break down someday and try one because I know they must taste amazing.

A closer look at these beauties:

In Westborough’s new and extremely pleasant shopping center (right downtown) is Ted’s Montana Grill.
From reading it’s website, it is a chain of restaurants owned by Ted Turner and it’s mission is fresh food and to be environmentally friendly.
I loved the inside, it looks old even though it’s brand new.  The combination of dark wood, tin ceilings and tasteful lighting make it a classy looking place.


Our waiter asked us if we had been there before and when we said we had not, he explained Ted’s from it’s mission to it’s practices and then the specials.  Part of the missions is being environmentally friendly, as he explained they use “earth friendly” paper straws instead of plastic – and they work just as good!

At our table was a generous assortment of condiments:

I got the special of the day, a fish sandwich:

The fish sadnwich was very good. The fish was fried in a light batter and the handcut fries were really good.  They could have eased up on the mayo in the coleslaw but it was good too.
Ethan got the salmon with mashed potatoes and green beans which  he said was good too.

On Ted’s Menu there is a wide variety of options to choose from as well as burgers and all of their burgers are available as beef or buffalo meat.

This a really great place to have in the area and I’ll definitely be back to try some other dishes.
For more info check out their site:
http://www.tedsmontanagrill.com/

We recently went to Franco’s on Speen St. in Natick.  It’s not a huge place but has a fair amount of seating and casual interior.
They serve homemade rolls with olive oil which were pretty good:

I got eggplant parm and opted for the $1 more fresh pasta:

I loved the sauce and the fresh pasta made all the difference. It was much softer and seemed to absorb the sauce better.  I really liked it.
Ethan got a calzone.  I didn’t realise what a non-descript picture I took until later but this is what it looked like:

My uncle got a pizza, like he usually does when we go out:

He says Francos is one of his favorite places to get pizza around here.  Ethan wasn’t crazy about his calzone but I’m still thinking about how awesome the fresh pasta and sauce was and I’ll definitely go back there for that.

Tonight I met a friend at Sweet Pepper (385 Boston Post Rd.) in Sudbury. 
I’m not a big Thai food person but I love Pad Thai.  Since there are no Thai places in Framingham, it’s been a while since I’ve had that dish, so when my friend asked me to meet here here I was more than happy to get my fix.
It’s kind of small inside but “cozy” and nicely decorated.
We started off splitting fresh garden rolls that had carrots, red and green lettuce, vermicelli noodles, chicken and shrimp.  With the rolls, a sweet and slightly spicy peanut sauce was served on the side.  They were light and tasty but no too filling.

We both got the tofu Pad Thai (so I only took one picture) This was really good although in the back of my mind I always compare Pad Thai with “Eriwan of Siam” in Waltham makes an incredible Pad Thai, it’s hard for others to compete with.

This did hit the spot though and I’m not aware of any Thai place closer than going to Waltham so I would probably go here again.  Plus the service was friendly and well timed.

Oliva’s Market in Milford, on Rt. 16/ E. Main St. (even their website doesn’t give an exact street address) is a place that I know has been around for a long time because I’d go by it all the time but never went.  I heard that they have great Italian sandwiches, even one that is their signature sandwich called the B.O.G. so I went in to  get on and see what it was like.
First I’d like to say that this an awesome little neighborhood shop that has anything you could want in Italian deli and foods. 

They have a refrigerated and frozen section of home-made foods, sauces and soups, even pasatelli noodles to add to your own soup.
They also have fresh breads and pizza slices that is self serve.

I brought a B.O.G. and slice of pizza to my mom’s since it was on the way and she likes Italian sandwiches too.
Here’s the B.O.G. :

They use fresh focaccia bread that is unbelievable and the combination of meats and cheese with whatever dressing they use is awesome.  This is a great sandwich and perfect for sharing.
Here’s a slice of their homemade pizza which was excellent as well.

They also have a little gift area in the back full of all sorts of homey gifts.

Oliva’s is such a great place, I can’t believe I missed out on this for so many years but I’ll be back to try more of their goodies!

I find the new Natick Collection Mallpretty useless.  Although it’s nice to look at and walk around the new part, I have no business going into any of those stores and can’t afford them anyway.  I think the one redeeming business in the mall is the awesome Lego store.
I love Legos.  One of the best gifts Ethan ever got me was a limited edition reproduction of the first Lego set I ever had in 1983.  I still love looking at all the things you can make with Legos and this store has nice shadow boxes around the store you can look in and see different scenes:

Also nice is the lego parts wall to get any spare parts for a project:

Finally, not metrowest related but if you like Legos, Flickr has some amazing pictures people have taken of Lego scenes from history, movies, painting etc… and is worth checking out: http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=lego&w=all&s=int

What can I say?  I love Tatnuck.  They took an empty Star Market in the Westborough Shopping Center and turned it into an awesome independent bookstore.  Don’t let the modest lowercase lettering fool you, (t)Tatnuck competes with the corporate bookstores down the road and thanks to local support, continues to be part of the local business scene.
I remember their former location in Worcester was great too, but if they had to move, I think this was a super place to settle into.  The shopping (and parking) experience here is much more pleasant than going to Barnes and Noble and even Borders.  It’s nicely set up and with section signs hanging above the bookshelves so you can see what you’re looking for.  I also like their combination of lighting,  it makes a well lit environment and I just personally have a thing for track lighting, so I love it. 

They have a great gift selection so I’ve been here to find gifts for anything from birthdays (adult and kid) to housewarmings to baby showers.  They also have a large assortment of cards and wrapping paper to make your gift presentable.

Tatnuck has a nice cafe in the front of the store that has great coffee an treats too.

When in Westborough, I highly recommend giving Tatnuck a visit. http://www.tatnuck.com/

I started a new job in Westborough last month and finally have the pleasure of going Route 9 west instead of east in the morning.  I decided to take advantage of this and try Red Barn Coffee.  I’m almost embarrassed to admit I’ve never been to any Red Barn before.  I know it’s been around for a long time but just never went by a location (there are several) when I wanted/needed coffee.
The shop I went to is in Southborough.  Inside is small and cozy with just a few tables, although most people were just getting coffee to go.

There is a decent offering of baked good in the display case.  Normally I’m not a big muffin person but I thought theirs looked interesting (although overwhelming in size) being mostly muffin top.  Once I saw they had pumpkin (my favorite) I knew I was going have to try one.
On the chalkboard of featured coffee flavors was cinnamon, another favorite, so I really didn’t have to spend any time deciding what I wanted.
The dynamic duo:

Both were excellent.  I could only eat half of the muffin but saved the rest for later.  It was perfectly moist and pumkiny, not too sweet and was an awesome compliment to the cinnamon coffee.
Red Barn has a few locations in metrowest and two in Boston.  I just realised there is one in walking distance of my work at the Westborough rotary, so I’m sure I’ll be checking out that one too.
They also have a website @ http://www.redbarncoffee.com

Village Stationary in Holliston, or just “Village” as we called it growing up, was a shop kids would get candy and random knick-knacks.  This was a big “half-day” destination for us, especially being right next door to Table Top pizza, a great way to kick off the afternoon on such special occasions.
I find this place interesting because not a lot has changed.  Aside from cigarettes, lottery tickets and candy, most of the inventory is the same.

I like to think of Village as (an unintentional) “living museum”.  You can find things like:
Folders for Trapper Keepers

Vintage party supplies:

Old toys/games/Bingo chips:

The always alluring, wall o’candy:

Not to mention a bunch of old make-up and retro hair accessories.  If you’re ever going to an 80’s party, you can stop here and find all sorts of things to put in your hair. Village also has a pleasantly ancient greeting card selection.   I actually bought a card here for my little sister’s birthday two months ago that read (after I dusted it off) “You’re a lady of the 80’s! Party in style!”

Some of my recent purchases have been:
A Trapper Keeper:

Babe Colonge:

Ancient Vidal Sassoon product:

Jean Nate Soap Gift Set (pure as the day it was put in the shelf in 1983):

I usually pick up a little something whenever I’m in the area and go by here.  It’s an interesting place to just walk around and look stuff (to me).  There’s also some gems in the display case like a “Little Professor” calculator.  I guess I’d like to thank smokers and lottery players because this place would have been closed long ago if it weren’t for them : )

Last week we went to try Stone’s Public House (formerly John Stone’s Inn).  This one of those places I grew up knowing about but never went to, so Ethan and I went for lunch to see what it was like.
Inside was pretty much what I expected, cozy and comfortable.
 
Since we were there at an odd our we had our pick of seats, so we sat by the fireplace and started off with a couple of beers.

Ethan got a cheeseburger and I got fish and chips.
 
Everything was really good.  The fries were fantastic and our server was very nice.  I guess the prices are a little on the high end but not outrageous and the ambiance is a nice change from most places in the area.  Stone’s is also known for ghost sightings.  They usually get a little piece done on them around Halloween time.  You can check out their website to learn the history of the building.
I wish we had something like this in Framingham but it’s nice that it’s just a few minutes away.